"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone"

Transfer, Transfer, and Transfer.

“So where are you transferring to?” “Got your applications done yet?” “When’s the application deadline?” “How’s your personal statement going?” “Are you applying to [insert name of school]?” “Why aren’t you considering [insert name of school]? You seem like the type of student who would want to go there.”

Tired of all these transfer questions? So am I! Unfortunately, it’s not something we can just neglect. As a community college student, you would eventually have to transfer to a community college in order to get a bachelor’s degree. Most universities will be closing their transfer applications soon, and with about a month or so to go, a lot of fuss has been generated over the transfer applications. I myself have gone through periods of stress thinking about transfers.

Due to my frequent panicking about transfers, I decided to do a google search on transfer advice. I found some very useful advice, and I thought I would share it with all of you:

ADVICE #1: Visit the university you are interested in!
Think about it this way: you are very likely to spend the next two years of your life in that university. What if after you transfer, it turns out that you hate the place? That would be a shocker, and you would be in a very, very bad situation. If you spend some time to visit the university, you might get very valuable information on the transfer policy, and most importantly, get a feel of what it’s like to be a student of that university. if possible, you might even be able to go to that school for one quarter, as a visiting student. Remember, you only live once, so don’t let the next two years of your life be a waste!

ADVICE #2: Know exactly what you want to study!
If there is one thing universities hate, it’s indecisiveness; not knowing what you want to pursue in life. As transfer students, by the time we apply for transfer admission, we would have already spent about 2 years in college. From a very logical point of view, you would expect the student to be self-directed and already have a very clear idea on their career-path. I know it’s hard, because personally, I think it’s just weird how people expect a seventeen year old like me to know exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life. Therefore, that is exactly why we should make the most of our time here at Green River. Try different things, explore new hobbies. Who knows, it might introduce us to our new hobby!

ADVICE #3: Know your desired universities inside out.
Every university has its own style. Some universities are more liberal, while some other universities have very strict general institution requirements. Trust me, it will really help if you know exactly what kind of university you are applying to, because most of the time, universities will ask you to write an essay on why you want to transfer to that university. In the process of researching more information on that university, it will also help you decide which universities would suit you more. Even though people might say that Harvard is the best university in the United States, it might not be the right fit for everyone. Remember, universities are not only looking for high-GPA and active students, they want to make sure that the students they admit would gel in well with their policy and curriculum.

ADVICE #4: Research the transfer requirements.
Make sure the classes you are taking in college are transferrable to the university you will be transferring to. If your classes aren’t transferable, not only would it be a waste of time, but it would also be a waste of money. Also, most of the time, universities look for students who have already completed most of their general requirements.

So those are four tips for those of you who are looking to transfer in the near future. Remember, I myself haven’t had any experience of transferring, so it might not be the best advice out there, but I hope it helps!